Play about Milk assassin’s trial well ‘executed’

The concept of the “Twinkie defense” is now widely derided. But in 1979 the “diminished capacity” argument convinced a California jury that Dan White, a former city supervisor, only deserved a voluntary manslaughter conviction after he shot and killed San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and fellow supervisor and gay rights icon Harvey Milk.

Heavily sourced from trial transcripts, Mann puts the audience in the jury box as she explores in detail whether White’s deteriorating mental state – displayed by the former health nut’s switch to a junk food and soda diet – meant that his act was something other than premeditated murder.

Kate Hamilton is especially effective in her portrayal of Douglas Schmidt, White’s defense attorney. Rather than asking the jury for sympathy, Schmidt prevailed by parading a team of psychiatrists in front of the court and by raising doubts about White’s motivation for the shooting.

Another strong cast member is Edmund Donovan, who portrays District Attorney Joseph Freitas, Jr. Already grieving for his murdered friends, Freitas then finds his political career ruined by the public outcry over the verdict. (A year later the California Penal Code was amended to exclude the “diminished capacity” defense.)

“Execution of Justice” seeks to capture both the mechanics of the weeks-long trial and the community’s response to it. That’s an ambitious goal that results in an overly long 150 minute play. But audiences who sit through it are rewarded with the chance to see a controversial part of legal history through multiple lenses.